#black-cilice — Public Fediverse posts

In a genre as insular as the often meme’d-and-mocked “one man raw black metal” offerings, Black Cilice have managed to become kind of a big deal. With an early release schedule that makes Coffins look like a bunch of slackers, their output has finally begun to slow down over the years, going from multiple splits and demos in one season to multi-year bouts of interruption. Votive Fire comes after an unusual four-year gap between full-lengths, claiming a slightly improved production and an emphasis on bigger songs. Black Cilice have been on a bit of an evolutionary bent as of late, transitioning from an almost impenetrable wall of noise into crafters of riffs with real might without sacrificing mood. I was curious to see how this newest creation would manifest itself, so go get your favorite goat to sacrifice and come take a walk through the fires with me.

How raw is raw? While older Black Cilice albums channel piercing treble tones through wind-tunnel cacophony, later works have tinkered with just a touch of varied emphasis. Previous LP Esoteric Atavism had decipherable leads which shimmered over the blast-heavy chords, and recent EP Tomb Emanations1 had a radical focus on emphasized doomy chord progressions in lieu of sheer assault. Votive Fire continues this slight change, returning to the more fog-and-moonlight murk of Transfixion of Spirits, but this time the band gives the listener a slightly brighter lantern. The drums have the bass kick cranked way up, giving every slowed rhythm a tribal pulse. The rest of the kit benefits too, with the expected speed in bits of “Into the Inner Temple” letting cymbals shine brightly in their fills and accents, somehow well articulated while still buried enough to offend people looking for something with the clarity of Necrophobic.

The net result of this production is an album that seeks to be meditative and soothing more than frightening and oppressive. The compositional approach of Votive Fire is four long songs that pick a key motif and then, ever so slightly, tweak and evolve the main riff through tempo changes and sustained chord pounding. It’s in these slower moments that the Fire shines the brightest; see the climactic slowdown ending “Released by Fire”, where the open space lets the drums run full scales while the looping chord progressions slowly build tension before exploding into another burst of speed without losing the established melancholy. That melancholy permeates the whole of Votive Fire. While Black Cilice could hardly be accused of ever making something uplifting, this particular album sidesteps the typical bleak claustrophobia with a vision much more inclined to introspection and self-reflection.

The one knock on Votive Fire is that, from a formula standpoint, each song follows roughly the same pattern: repetitive, hypnotic progressions under crystalline blasts evolving into a chunkier, punkier refrain before collapsing back into more anguished strums, all lashed forward by the glass-shattering vocals. With such a scant song selection, it may seem a little silly to try to find highlights. However, this is a headphone purist’s dream album, where the repetition of formula disguises the unique twists genuinely present, rewarding repeated listens in the right environment. “Vows Sworn for Centuries” hides a real gem of a riff in a shifting blast-beat instead of a slowdown, and “Deconstruction of All Realities” carries a main midtempo refrain which is both ritualistic and head-bangable. The production helps with this, somehow managing to mix everything to the bottom instead of to the front and letting the listener search for details articulated in the mire, rather than pushing everything forward and letting the disparate elements compete for attention. Consequently, this is a rare album that is raw af but somehow graceful to the ears, inviting the listener to dive deeper rather than partake in a display of auditory masochism.

Votive Fire manages to give itself an identity apart from previous Black Cilice releases, but where it can rank depends on what you’re looking for. It’s not as aggressive and riff-centric as Esoteric Atavism, not as punishingly raw as Summoning the Night, or as frighteningly atmospheric as Transfixion of Spirits. Instead, by fusing the riff game of the former into the misty comfort of the latter, Votive Fire transcends being a slab of aural abuse by way of offering moments with genuine, wistful beauty. That’s not a label I often get to associate with this genre, but I’m hardly disappointed. If you’re bored by the air-conditioner sound of your average one-man black metal, go light a candle and let the Votive Fire offer you a glimpse into something more, just beyond the veil.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Website: Album Bandcamp
Available Worldwide: May 1st, 2026

BLACK CILICE (Portugal) presenta nou àlbum: "Votive Fire" #BlackCilice #RawBlackMetal #Maig2026 #Portugal #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

We often wax eloquent on the distinctive factors between good and great. In a writing sphere where we are strictly commanded to avoid “artistic bullshit” in our analysis in favor of more clinical, scientific examination, pinning down elements that distinguish the enjoyable from the memorable and the well-made from the impactful can make for a fun thought experiment or a maddening exercise in futility and thesaurus perusing. A few months ago, this very topic was brought up in the halls, and while staffers hemmed and hawed over nebulous ideas of quality, the ever-wise Dolphin Whisperer chimed in with a straight-to-the-point insight which stuck with me: “For me, the difference between good and great is whether I’d buy this for ten dollars.” Hailing from Croatia, one-man black metal project Petrale have arrived with some creepily straightforward artwork and an equally straightforward album title; will this be relegated to your ever-flowing streams, or have you reaching for your wallets?

Though classified as “raw black metal”, Goat at Sunset sidesteps stereotypes in presentation. Produced entirely on analogue open reel tape, this album contains the warmest, richest sound I’ve heard in some time. Rather than raw by way of underproduction like Fell Omen or draped in overly reverbed fog ala Black Cilice, each instrument has a charmingly clear enunciation while being mixed roughly around the edges with an organic, welcoming tone. Full, thick major(!) chord progressions (“Dorsal Horn”) give way to looping doses of Ulcerate-isms, which manage to be much more straightforward in execution while carving their own atmosphere of distant menace. The drums carry a dollop of modern Darkthrone in their presence, with the double bass successfully muddying the riffs just a touch, emphasizing the rawness in the nature of the production without relying on deliberate self-sabotage of aesthetic.

Goat At Sunset by Petrale

In that sound lies a standout assembly of riff which does a masterful job of evoking the artwork accompanying it. Far from being a nonstop collection of hazy blast beats and trem pickings, Goat at Sunset uses a healthy sense of dynamic composition and tempo changes to carry the listener through the entire body of work. Frequently throughout the album, breaks are used which evoke something spiritually akin to smokehouse lounge vibes (“The Postulating Conduit (Sunset)”, “Hunter”) while sometimes sandwiching more energetic riffs into doomy plods (“The Wedge That Was Supposed to Prevent Sin”). As the art shows the ominous goat head, far away but clearly defined and present, the reliance on dissonant foundations with sudden flourishes of clarity channels a soundtrack that doesn’t seek to quite open the gates of hell as much as let the listener observe such a thing from a long way off.

The net result renders Goat at Sunset as a genre offering that manages to hit a sweet spot of fusion between accessibility and roughness, and with atmosphere and musicianship. Special attention must be paid to the bass, carrying an absolutely delicious tone which permeates throughout the release, and is given multiple opportunities to shine and echo leads rather than down strumming through chord progressions. Even the concluding cover song (a cover of an artist called Sven Väth) channels a heavy dollop of upbeat major progressions into something that seems like an organic conclusion to the release rather than a merely tacked-on bonus track. It’s true that near the end, the album loses some of its steam and places more emphasis on slower theatrics rather than raw riffage, particularly if you disregard the cover and let the album end on its proper, more “official” note. Nevertheless, Petrale have crafted an album replete with memorable moments, unusual time signatures (the 7/4 break in “Dorsal Horn” being a real standout) and a fully realized atmosphere and mood.

Raw black metal stands alongside genres like stoner doom as being difficult to execute in a way worthy of a coveted 4.0. Petrale have come as close as I’ve heard in years by inverting, rather than rejecting, genre stereotypes. A production which is warm instead of abrasive on the ears, chords which carry harmony as much as dissonance, emphasis on dynamics as much as blast beats are all cobbled together to create an album which carves a clear personality for itself within the genre trappings. Rich enough in sound to welcome genre casuals while bleak enough to entice genre aficionados, Goat at Sunset has been a dark delight. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find my wallet and buy one of the 100 CD-R copies available. Hopefully, for ten dollars.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: n/a | Format Reviewed: Stream
Label: Self-Released
Website: Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: February 1st, 2026

New post: Fortress Festival adds four more bands to 2026 lineup https://www.moshville.co.uk/news/tours/2025/09/fortress-festival-adds-four-more-bands-to-2026-lineup/ #AtlanteanSword #BlackCilice #FortressFestival #GateMaster